For a couple of months I have been checking Ebay and CL looking for a decent used Webasto DBW2010. Does anyone know of source for a used 12vdc diesel hydronic furnace? I know the topic of brands has been discussed at length on this forum, but if you can't find them to buy, maybe availability is more important?

I had the same thought but haven't found a source that scraps skoolies....

Too bad Nimco isn't dealing in bus parts any longer. I bought a super 8V71 from them some years ago (fresh rebuild with brand new block for $2250!) and they had pallets of Webasto 2010s for $450 each. I'm kicking myself now.

For that, you need a "converter" for 12V to 24V. But most of them are pretty limited on the amount of amperage so be certain of the current draw on the heater and be sure that the converter you select has sufficient power output. (Don't expect one of these to be inexpensive.)

Can you guys educate me on the advantages of the diesel fired heater? Seems like a propane furnace would be less expensive to operate.....well maybe not, propane is small quantities is pretty expensive....

Always amazes me that people put up with all the maintenance issues of Diesel Fired heaters. Granted they put out alot of heat and you do have endless hot water. But considering a new AquaHot system with heat exchangers is around $8,000.00, I'll stick to my very reliable propane heat, and with electric heat.Two 10gal electric water heaters are about $550.00 and the Propane furnace with ducts is about $900. Quite a bit different in cost-plus the electric water heaters are just about no maintenance. Good Luck, TomC

When I bought my bus it had a gas generator, a propane heater, and an electric cooktop, and one seriously leaky and poor running 8V71. I was originally planning to use propane for heat and cooking, but as a complete surprise, my dad bought me a couple induction hobs. I can use the hobs while on the pole, running the generator or off the inverter/house batteries. I really like them, so I scrapped the idea of cooking with propane. Plus the hobs just sit on top of the counter and are stored under the counter top. Plus I can use them outside. Then the gas generator died and I bought a well loved Westerbeke 8kw diesel marine unit. I hated the smell of the gas, somehow I always had fumes getting inside the bus. Then the propane heater's exchanger cracked so I tossed the entire unit (ran poorly and wasn't large enough anyhow). While sitting in my driveway, drinking a beer, gazing lovingly upon my 4106, I came to the decision to go with a single fuel, diesel. Diesel for the engine, diesel for the generator, diesel for heating, diesel for everyone!

The only future problem my "single fuel" plan causes is for the propane grill and my dream to add propane injection to the engine. I imagine I'll eventually install a propane tank and make a distribution system that I can use quick disconnects for the grill, patio heater, the gas lamps, the injection system, etc etc etc LOL! BUT, I won't NEED propane for any of the major systems. The other issue is I usually don't have a toad when I go camping (boondocking mostly) and running out of propane is PITA when you need to pack up your crap and go find a filling station!

Oh, and when the Zombies attack, won't it be easier to hunt for just one type of fuel instead of three??

There you go. Not the most elegant explanation, but one that works best for me and how I use my bus.

Always amazes me that people put up with all the maintenance issues of Diesel Fired heaters. Granted they put out alot of heat and you do have endless hot water. But considering a new AquaHot system with heat exchangers is around $8,000.00, I'll stick to my very reliable propane heat, and with electric heat.Two 10gal electric water heaters are about $550.00 and the Propane furnace with ducts is about $900. Quite a bit different in cost-plus the electric water heaters are just about no maintenance. Good Luck, TomC

Tom,

I hear you! A new propane unit is much less expensive than the diesel hydronic systems, but I'm hoping I can buy a good used unit and spend a few dollars to do a full PM on it. I may very well come to hate the diesel fired system but there seems to be plenty of them out there, especially in the marine industry! I saw a boat that had a diesel fired "wood stove", diesel fired cooktop, diesel fired oven.... Now that's "single source"! Besides, my experience has been if you take your time to tune or rebuild something and spend the money on the right parts, once it's up to snuff they tend to hum along. An example. My ex-father-in-law and his snowmobiles. Every year the carb gums up because he never drains the gas or uses a stabilizer. The first run of the next season the engine blows a hole in the piston. I rebuild the engine for him. The next season he does it again. This time the dealer rebuilds the entire engine. Then the carbs get gummed up again and it doesn't start. In the end he gives me the sled and buy a new 4 stroke sled. I haven't had a single problem with that sled in 6 years!

For hot water I picked up a $100 Raritan 12 gallon water heater with exchanger and 115vac electric element. The unit was installed but never once used. Of course it didn't work when I got it, but the price was right. I figure I can use the diesel furnace to heat the hot water and the engine, or I can use the heat exchanger on Westerbeke and heat the hot water with the hot coolant before it goes to the generators radiator.

How we each use the coach, how we each want to spend our money, how we each do the calculations to arrive ata plan we each want to implement.

Scavenging as much heat as possible from the various diesel fired devices is a worthy goal.

Engine or generator coolant routed through a water heater loop and/or also used for direct to interior heat exchangers is a worthy goal.

There have been a number of busnuts install piping in their coach floors for lovely warm radiant floor heating.

Positioning the coolant boiler in the tank bay with an outside air source piped to it's intake will help keep the bay warm by the wasted heat given off by the boiler.

A longer length of large diameter exhaust pipe also allows for waste heat to be radiated into a space the pipe is run through. The manuals for the coolant boiler will tell you the limits for bends and length allowable before you risk disrupting the combustion.

And a hefty coolant boiler plumbed into the engine circuit makes short work of engine pre-heating in winter and arctic conditions. It also serves well to supplement an idling engine in those same cold conditions to maintain both coach interior temp and proper engine operating temperatures, should a busnut be forced, or choose, to idle the engine to maintain livable conditions, perhaps due to other component breakdown.

In more moderate temperatures, juggling the costs of generator and an electric heater or sourcing a used diesel fired air heater might be considered for economical operation.

Redundancy does make life easier for a busnut, and at rare times, recovers situations of greater gravity, that off-shore boaters and fliers are more likely to consider.

I personally wouldn't have propane on a bus or boat for safety reasons - I'm not saying that it's 'unsafe', just less safe than diesel - and at least on a bus any leaked gas is likely to be able to escape, not build up in the bilges. But I still wouldn't use it. Plus there are laws here which require certification and annual inspection of gas installations in vehicles, which increase the cost and hassle of propane.